FTSE 100 oil major Shell (LSE: SHEL) on Thursday reported a steep decline in pretax profit for the full-year 2023, as lower global crude prices battered financial results. However, shares ticked up 1.5% to 2,483.00 pence after the company announced a higher dividend and new share buybacks.
Specifically, Shell posted pretax profit of $32.63 billion last year, falling from $64.82 billion in 2022. The company’s total annual revenue also slid 16% to $323.18 billion, down from $386.20 billion previously.
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Shell attributed the worsening profit and revenue to reduced global oil and natural gas prices, lower production volumes, decreased refining margins, and other factors.
The company did see some bright spots, including higher liquefied natural gas trading margins as well as improved marketing unit performance.
Despite Shell’s falling earnings in 2023, it boosted its quarterly dividend per share by 5.65 US cents to 34.40 cents, bringing its 2023 full-year dividend to $1.29 per share – representing a 25% increase from 2022. Shell also launched a new $3.5 billion share repurchase program after finishing its previous $3.5 billion buyback.